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| The Neck of the Woods | |
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| General Information | |
| Season | 4 |
| Location | Ravenedge |
| Region | Oakenbrook |
| Case # | 5 |
| Initial release date | 23rd October 2019 |
| Partner(s) | Lawrence Osborne (All Chapters) |
| Case Chronology | |
| ← Preceded by | Succeeded by → |
| If Looks Could Kill | Hope to Die |
| “ | In the heart of the woods, a body is found dead in a muddy ditch! Can you discover who muddied the waters of the investigation and murdered this soul? Remember, you’re not out of the woods yet! | „ |
| —Case Teaser |
The Neck of the Woods is a case featured in Criminal Case, it appears as the fifth case in A World Forgotten and the one hundred and ninety-fourth overall. It takes place as the fifth and penultimate case in the Oakenbrook district of Ravenedge.
Plot[]
Following the discovery that the mastermind behind the crimes in Oakenbrook was now likely looking for a new middle man after Callum Terranova's death, Lawrence and the player decided to head to the community hall to interrogate district residents, before Travis Widdecombe rushed in and insisted he'd found a body on his camping trip. There, in the woods, they found the body of hermit Pauline Sanders, who they suspected previously, dead in a muddy ditch. They first questioned Travis on how he found the body, where he confessed he was on a hike when he saw the victim's compass and then her body. They also suspected woodland guide Otis Mellerk and troublemaker Evan Matthews. Meanwhile, Draco led the autopsy again as Moira had vanished. Draco confirmed that the marks on Pauline's mouth and throat were congruent with the marks left by an execution style killing. Lawrence and the player then continued to walk through the woods, when they came across a stone circle and an alter, the altar containing a animal skull lit by candlelight.
In the clearing, the pair were then confronted by occult fanatic Reya Crowe who insisted they'd discovered a shrine to Lady Nightshade, a suspected witch whose daughters were killed on her wedding day. She recounted how Lady Nightshade was believed to haunt the woods, prompting Lawrence to remind her it was just an old wives' tale. They also found reason to suspect suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst. The team then regrouped in the precinct where Tobias, who was sweating and holding his forehead, asked for a debrief on the case. Before they could, however, they spotted Moira arguing with famed socialite, Zofia Monroe, outside. They then approached the pair, where they discovered Zofia was Moira's sister. Zofia then insisted that Moira stay away from their mother's birthday ball before leaving. Moira revealed that she was the black sheep of the Monroe family, due to her morbid interests, and had practically been forced into changing her surname. It was also discovered that Evan continually destroyed Pauline's camps in the woods and that Reya was a devout believer in Lady Nightshade, who insisted that Pauline was damaging the witch's woods. Emmeline was also interrogated when it was discovered Pauline was her former teacher. Otis was then identified as Pauline's killer, where he was interrogated in the stone circle.
Otis then wringed his hair and insisted that he didn't kill Pauline, then starting to sob. Lawrence pressed on and wanted to know what happened on the night of the murder, prompting Otis to break down and insist that killing Pauline was the only to the end the hauntings. Otis confessed that while mapping out new paths for his guided tours, he started to spot a woman in a wedding dress in the woods. Since then, out in the woods, he started to feel he was being followed, additionally seeing Lady Nightshade in the distance. Panicked, Otis purchased a revolver to protect himself, but Lady Nightshade persisted, leaving messages behind for Otis to find. Otis then received a message to head to the stone circle at midnight on the night of the murder, where he found "Kill the trespasser for both our peace's" written in blood. Scared and worried what Lady Nightshade would do if he didn't comply, Otis equipped his revolver and headed to Pauline, the trespasser's, hut. There, he didn't give her a chance as he shot her in the mouth and attempted to hide the body. When asked what happened after he killed Pauline, Otis insisted that the hauntings had ceased. In court, Judge Haddid had difficulty believing Otis' story, despite his insistence he was telling the truth, and sentenced him to fifteen years in prison. Outside the court, Charity congratulated the pair on solving the case, before a sickly-coloured Tobias weakly clapped, before falling to the floor.
Upon Tobias' collapse, Charity instructed the team to get Tobias to Pedro's lab right away. Pedro detailed he couldn't determine the cause of the problem but had contacted doctor Abraham Myers to look into it. Abraham was then able to identify the problem; Tobias was suffering from a fever. He then told the player and Sienna to find the Moonlilly flowers that bloomed in the woods so he could concoct a remedy for Tobias. The pair hurried to the woods and eventually plucked some flowers, sending them to Amethyst (who was an amateur botanist) for confirmation. After Amethyst confirmed the flower's identity, Abraham set to work creating his remedy for Tobias. A while later, Abraham presented the remedy to Tobias, who drank from it, then saying he was starting to feel better. Charity then advised he take some time off work to recover.
Meanwhile, Hope, who wanted a distraction following the previous investigation's events, accompanied the player in searching the woods for information into Otis' haunting and Lady Nightshade. The pair first searched the stone circle where Otis believed he found Lady Nightshade's message. After doing some digging, they found a wedding veil covered in blood which they sent to Moira. Moira then confirmed the blood was goat's blood and that she'd been able to retrieve hairs from the veil. Moira then insisted that Reya had been wearing the veil, prompting the pair to confront her. Eventually, Reya admitted to scaring Otis into murdering Pauline, insisting that Pauline was trespassing on Lady Nightshade's woods. They then handcuffed Reya and sent her to trial.
Elsewhere, Travis came forwards and told the team that he'd been monitoring Evan Matthews following his vandalism of Pauline's hut. The beat cop then revealed that Evan had been meeting someone by the ditch and had returned with strange boxes, but he had no idea what they contained. They then rushed to the ditch where they discovered one of the boxes discarded, then electing to search through it. The pair then discovered the box was filled with stolen confidential documents. When confronted, Evan confessed he'd been approached to distribute the boxes for a sum of money, just like Callum before him, but insisted that he had no involvement with the thefts. Fearing for his life, Evan then refused to say who dealt him the documents, but did admit that the mastermind had offered further payment if he broke into Charity's office and stole her documents also. They then escorted Evan away from the woods.
Finally, the team recapped the case's events one by one. Knowing that the mastermind behind the leaks was now targeting Charity's office, Antonio suggested a plan. He then suggested that they speak to Eva about releasing her and having her meet with the mastermind in person to discuss the next robbery, where the team could then trap the mastermind. Eva then agreed to the risky plan, believing it would make her late lover, Amy Holmes, proud. A few days later, Eva told them she'd organized a face-to-face meeting with the mastermind at a nearby campsite, telling the detectives to get ready for whatever may happen next.
Summary[]
Victim[]
- Pauline Sanders (found dead in a muddy ditch, shot in the mouth)
Murder Weapon[]
- Revolver
Killer[]
- Otis Mellerk
Suspects[]
| Height | 6'0" |
| Age | 29 |
| Weight | 189 lbs |
| Eyes | Blue |
| Blood | A+ |
Suspect's Profile
- The suspect knows occult lore.
- The suspect wears hiking boots.
- The suspect is in contact with mushrooms.
| Height | 6'1" |
| Age | 48 |
| Weight | 203 lbs |
| Eyes | Blue |
| Blood | A- |
Suspect's Profile
- The suspect knows occult lore.
- The suspect wears hiking boots.
- The suspect is in contact with mushrooms.
Suspect's Appearance
- The suspect has ripped clothing.
- The suspect wears leaves.
| Height | 5'8" |
| Age | 23 |
| Weight | 183 lbs |
| Eyes | Blue |
| Blood | AB- |
Suspect's Profile
- The suspect knows occult lore.
- The suspect wears hiking boots.
- The suspect is in contact with mushrooms.
| Height | 5'3" |
| Age | 23 |
| Weight | 129 lbs |
| Eyes | Blue |
| Blood | A+ |
Suspect's Profile
- The suspect knows occult lore.
- The suspect wears hiking boots.
- The suspect is in contact with mushrooms.
Suspect's Appearance
- The suspect has ripped clothing.
| Height | 5'4" |
| Age | 42 |
| Weight | 139 lbs |
| Eyes | Blue |
| Blood | A- |
Suspect's Profile
- The suspect knows occult lore.
- The suspect is in contact with mushrooms.
Suspect's Appearance
- The suspect wears leaves.
Quasi-Suspects[]
| Height | 5'8" |
| Age | 53 |
| Weight | 168 lbs |
| Eyes | Brown |
| Blood | A+ |
| Height | 5'11" |
| Age | 57 |
| Weight | 175 lbs |
| Eyes | Blue |
| Blood | A- |
| Height | 5'4" |
| Age | 25 |
| Weight | 153 lbs |
| Eyes | Blue |
| Blood | A- |
Killer's Profile[]
- The killer knows occult lore.
- The killer wears hiking boots.
- The killer is in contact with mushrooms.
- The killer has ripped clothing.
- The killer wears leaves.
Crime Scenes[]
| Muddy Ditch | Tree Roots | Muddy Ditch Bonus |
| Pauline's Hut | Hut Door | Pauline's Hut Bonus |
| Stone Circle | Circle Altar | Stone Circle Bonus |
Steps[]
Chapter 1[]
- Investigate Muddy Ditch. (Clues: Victim's Body, Broken Glass, Foliage; New Suspect: Travis Widdecombe)
- Examine Foliage. (Result: Faded Map)
- Examine Faded Map. (Result: Woodland Pathway; New Crime Scene: Pauline's Hut)
- Investigate Pauline's Hut. (Clues: Coat, Cigar Box)
- Examine Coat. (Result: O MELLERK; New Suspect: Otis Mellerk)
- Interrogate Otis on the hermit's death.
- Examine Cigar Box. (Result: Cigar [DNA])
- Examine DNA. (Result: DNA Match)
- Analyze DNA Match. (07:00:00; New Suspect: Evan Matthews)
- Speak to Evan about the cigars.
- Ask Travis how he found the body.
- Examine Broken Glass. (Result: Compass)
- Analyze Compass. (06:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears hiking boots)
- Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Attribute: The killer knows occult lore)
- Go to Chapter 2. (No stars)
Chapter 2[]
- Speak to Reya about the stone circle. (Attribute: Reya knows occult lore; New Crime Scene: Stone Circle)
- Investigate Stone Circle. (Clues: Choker, Mud Pile)
- Examine Choker. (Result: Insignia)
- Examine Insignia. (Result: Pankhurst Insignia; New Suspect: Emmeline Pankhurst)
- Interrogate Emmeline on the murder in the woods. (Attribute: Emmeline knows occult lore)
- Examine Mud Pile. (Result: Revolver)
- Analyze Revolver. (05:00:00; Attribute: The killer is in contact with mushrooms; New Crime Scene: Hut Door)
- Investigate Hut Door. (Clues: Pauline's Sketches, Otis' Map)
- Examine Pauline's Sketches. (Result: Weird Sketch)
- Analyze Weird Sketch. (07:00:00)
- Confront Evan about destroying Pauline's camps. (Attribute: Evan knows occult lore, wears hiking boots, and is in contact with mushrooms)
- Examine Otis' Map. (Result: Crossed Out Location)
- Speak to Otis about Pauline pressuring him to remove her hut from the map. (Attribute: Otis knows occult lore, wears hiking boots, and is in contact with mushrooms)
- Go to Chapter 3. (No stars)
Chapter 3[]
- Investigate Tree Roots. (Clues: Old Photo, Stone Tablet, Travis' Bag)
- Examine Old Photo. (Result: School Photo)
- Speak to Emmeline about her teacher. (Attribute: Emmeline is in contact with mushrooms)
- Examine Stone Tablet. (Result: Inscription)
- Confront Reya over devoting her life to Lady Nightshade. (Attribute: Reya wears hiking boots and is in contact with mushrooms)
- Examine Travis' Bag. (Result: Bullet)
- Analyze Bullet. (06:00:00)
- Confront Travis over the bullet in his bag. (Attribute: Travis knows occult lore, wears hiking boots, and is in contact with mushrooms)
- Investigate Circle Altar. (Clues: Napkin, Goat Skull)
- Examine Napkin. (Result: Gunpowder)
- Analyze Gunpowder. (04:00:00; Attribute: The killer has ripped clothing)
- Examine Goat Skull. (Result: Green Pieces)
- Analyze Green Pieces. (07:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears leaves)
- Take care of the killer now!
- Go to What Comes Out When Night Falls (5/6). (No stars)
What Comes Out When Night Falls (5/6)[]
- See how Abraham can help Tobias.
- Investigate Pauline's Hut. (Clue: Flower Batch)
- Examine Flower Batch. (Result: Flowers)
- Analyze Flowers. (07:00:00; New Quasi-Suspect: Tobias Spear)
- Pass Tobias the remedy. (Reward: 20,000 Coins)
- Investigate Stone Circle. (Clue: Wedding Veil)
- Examine Wedding Veil. (Result: Black Hairs)
- Analyze Black Hairs. (03:00:00)
- Arrest Reya for her crimes. (Reward: Burger)
- See what Travis has discovered.
- Investigate Muddy Ditch. (Clue: Box)
- Examine Box. (Result: Stolen Documents)
- Analyze Stolen Documents. (05:00:00)
- Confront Evan about the documents. (Reward: Jacket)
- Ask for Eva's help.
- Move onto a new crime! (No stars)